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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2021)
6 MARCH 1, 2021 Smoke Signals Decisions to resume in-person instruction made by districts Congratulations, SCHOOLS continued from front page Tatianna, for making honor roll! We are proud of you! Mom, Dad & your family The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde presents the first of our Bi-Monthly Veterans Meetings Tribal Veteran Service Officers (TVSOs) in Native Country with guest panelists: LaVada Anderson and Eugene Talas March 9, 2021 at 2 p.m. Via Zoom ~ Register at: zoom.us/join Enter Meeting ID: 998 1048 8787 Accredited Tribal Veteran Representative LaVada Anderson LaVada is currently employed by the Suquamish Tribe and the Makah Nations in their Veterans Centers. LaVada has previously worked at the Colville and Nez Perce for veteran’s services and benefits. LaVada is the Co-Chair for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the Joint American Indians Advisory Council. LaVada was a nominee for Under Secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs in 2009. LaVada has a deep understanding of veteran benefits, services, and 38 CFR with a multitude of certifications and trainings related to veteran benefits in addition to being a business owner and running her own businesses’. Accredited Since 2004 Retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Eugene “Geno” Talas Enrolled in the Hopi Tribe; Bamboo/Reed clan member. Manager of the Hopi Veterans Services (HVS) since June 2008 providing a full array of veteran related services to assist and advocate for veterans and their families in a jurisdiction covering 1.6 million acres. Eugene was instrumental in researching and providing technical expertise on the ten Hopi Code Talkers who served in World War II resulting in a Congressional Gold and Silver Medal to the Hopi Tribe and next of kin in November 2013. Eugene is very active in veteran events and organizations, active in his culture, and he is mentor to young Hopi children. 30 years of service from Vietnam to the Iraqi war eras Join us on Zoom for a series of Financial Wellness Classes! The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde- Social Services has partnered with Financial Beginnings Oregon to bring a series of Financial Wellness classes to our community members! This program provides the financial knowledge and strategies that help reduce debt and manage financial barriers. Participants will develop personalized financial goals such as establishing an emergency savings fund or developing a plan to build and fix credit. Gift Cards will be raffled each class! Save the dates GOALS & TOOLS INCOME & TAXES CREDIT & DEBT Take a look at living expenses, develop short-, intermediate-, and long-term goals, as well as understand and utilize tools to attain those goals, such as banking and budgeting. Analyze current and possible future income potential, as well as understand financial responsibilities, budgeting, and the tax system framework. Learn the importance of maintaining strong credit, how debt accumulation affects one's financial future, different loan types and how to improve or build credit. Tuesday, March 9th from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM Tuesday, March 16th from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM Tuesday, March 23rd from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM Thursday, March 11th from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Thursday, March 18th from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Thursday, March 25th from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM To join this class go to ZOOM.COM Meeting ID: 856 405 4515 Passcode: 12345 For more information contact Lorena.Rivera@grandronde.org or 503-879-1991 of Education and Oregon Health Authority on Dec. 23. “Moving forward, the decision to resume in-person instruction must be made locally, district by district, school by school,” Brown said. “In addition to schools continuing to adhere to required health and safe- ty protocols and working in close consultation with their local public health authority in understand- ing and considering the metrics, teachers, school staff, parents and students should be engaged in this decision-making process to allow schools to make the best choice for their community and their students.” Changes to the state guidance on Jan. 19 included resources to support outdoor instruction, revisions to align with the occu- pational safety and health rules, requiring employee representation for back-to-school planning and a requirement that districts offer on- site COVID-19 testing if they are located in counties with high case counts. Schools in Yamhill, Marion and Polk counties are currently included in that category. The Willamina hybrid model fea- tures a half-day, morning or after- noon session for three hours, four days per week, Tuesday through Friday. Students are given two meals when they finish the day to take home with them rather than eating in the cafeteria. Some of the priorities for opening included providing opportunities for staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and for the district to provide rapid testing for symptom- atic students or staff. Each building has a “re-entry” team focused on creating protocols for bringing stu- dents back to school. These include arrival, dismissal, sanitation and transition between classes. The Yamhill County Public Health Department held a vaccina- tion clinic at Faulconer-Chapman School in Sheridan on Tuesday, Feb. 2, where 100 doses were ad- ministered to teachers. The pur- pose was so teachers in Sheridan and Willamina didn’t have to drive far for their shots. Some teachers in other districts have had to drive up to hundreds of miles across state lines to receive both vaccinations before they begin teaching in-per- son classes. The Grand Ronde Health & Well- ness Department reported it vaccinat- ed 22 school employees during a clinic held on Feb. 3-4 at the Tribal gym. Additionally, football, volleyball and cross country teams in the district have started practicing and expect to return to competition in March. Parents were required to sign forms acknowledging the risk of COVID-19. Additionally, testing must be provided for symptomatic athletes and coaches. Meanwhile in McMinnville, the school district is planning to ten- tatively resume in-person learning for elementary school students in mid-March. The district, like most others, also will use a hybrid mod- el. However, the exact re-opening date depends on the availability of vaccines for teachers. In the Salem-Keizer district, kin- dergarten and first grade students will start in-person classes the first week of March. The district doesn’t expect to have all students back in the classroom until April at the earliest. Sheridan School District kin- dergarten through second grades returned to the classroom in mid-February. Hybrid instruction is set to begin for all students by mid-March. Students in any district may choose to continue comprehensive distance learning if they do not feel comfortable returning to school. On the Tribal campus, Youth Ed- ucation began phasing in a re-open- ing on Monday, Feb. 22. “This re-opening will be conduct- ed in phases with the first phase to return to service delivery levels in place in November prior to the closure of the campus,” Educa- tion Department Manager Angela Fasana said. “Most programs will be offering one-to-one meetings with students and the Internet classrooms will be re-opened on a limited basis.” Housing Association accepting scholar applications OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Northwest Indian Housing Associa- tion is accepting applications from enrolled association Tribal members for its 2021 Youth Scholarship Program. The Grand Ronde Tribe is a member of the association. To be eligible, applicants must not have reached their 24th birthday by the application deadline, which is Friday, March 26. Applications can be obtained by visiting www.nwiha.org and clicking on the Youth Scholarship Program tab. Applications and supporting documents must be submitted by e-mail to info@ nwiah.org on or before 5 p.m. Friday, March 26. All applicants will be notified of the Executive Committee’s decisions and successful applicants will be recognized at the spring conference being held April 13-14. For more information, call 360-220-9212 or e-mail info@nwiha. org.